Forgotten Hero's Return
by HaloNife115
Summary: Adopted from ArchAngel's Wrath. Percy has been forgotten by everyone he knew and was exiled to Tartarus, where Lady Chaos finds him and offers him a chance of a new life. He finds new friends, enemies, and possibly even love along the way. Updates will be sporadic, as life tends to get in the way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 2

_**Hello all! Some of you may recognize the title, and it's because ArchAngel's Wrath ended up needing to pass of the story for a while (read chapter 2 on his story if you want verification), so I offered and ended up with the job for now. Also, read his story to get chapter 1. I hope you all enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Rick Riordan's or Bungie's work, as much as I wish that I do. I also don't have any claim to the first chapter (which you can read here: s/10314089/1/Forgotten-Hero-s-Return) or the idea for the story, that all came from the mind of ArchAngel's Wrath.**_

**Nexus P.O.V. (Where we left off)**

_5_

_4_

_3_

_2_

_1_

_Drop_

_And soon a rush of anxiety washed over me at the thought of going back there. Oh well. At least most of them would have passed away, so no one but Chiron and my team would be able to recognize me._

**(Current time)**

The portal bellow our pods teleported us out of Chaos' dimension and into the top of Earth's atmosphere. I could see the whole of North America laid out below me, and could see the technological advancements that had taken place quite clearly. I wondered if the people would be any different.

I took a deep breath to compose myself, then flicked the switch to turn on the video screen in my pod. Live video footage of all the squad leaders appeared on the vid screen, courtesy of tiny cameras in each of their pods. I quickly checked their vitals in the HUD of my visor, and they all appeared to be normal.

"Alright folks, parties over. We'll be coming in hot over Camp Half-Blood. Our current ETA is currently 3 minutes, and the moment our boots hit the dirt we'll be waist deep in enemies. I just received some intel from Lady Chaos that says that there is a CSO class super-carrier holding station above Camp Half Blood, and it is presumed to be Order's flagship. There have been no reported sightings of Order yet, but he will be out there. If you find him, do NOT engage him, send for reinforcements and hold position for as long as possible. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" came the chorus of replies.

"Alright. Zöe, Luke, Silena, and Charles will drop in front of the enemy line to help the half-bloods. Ethan and Veronica are with me. See on the other side." I waited for their response, then switched off the transmission.

I started focusing on the battle ahead, letting the pent up adrenaline and anxiety help to start getting myself pumped for the upcoming battle. The drop pod was creaking and groaning around me as the temperature inside started to climb because of the friction on the atmosphere. There was a reason that the term Tartarus-jumpers had been coined, it literally felt like we were falling into Tartarus with the darkness and the heat. All of a sudden, it was 30 seconds until we hit the earth, and the braking devices started working as hard as possible to keep the drop survivable. Then it was 20. 10. _WHAM!_ The impact knocked the wind out of me, but I was used to it and popped open the hatch, grabbing my weapons at the same time. I leapt out and took out several Jackals who had been investigating the drop pod.

I scrambled onto the top of my pod to get a better view of things, and didn't like what I saw. All the squad leaders appeared to be fine, but the half-bloods had taken a beating. It was of no surprise, considering the fact that they were severely outgunned and outmanned. I once more leapt into the fray, landing on top of an Elite and snapping his neck, then leaping off him after dropping a primed grenade into the middle of the squad of grunts. As the sound of the grenade reached my ears, another elite rose up to fight me.

I barely dodged his first punch, and rolled with the second, letting my armor take the blow so I could get within range. My knife seemed to leap out of its sheath and into my hand as I thrust it toward the Elite, but that did nothing but break the Elite's shields. The Elite staggered back and roared at me. "Come and get it," I taunted, and the Elite charged again, this time managing to hit my chest plate, sending me backwards. I used the distance drop my knife (which appeared back in its sheath thanks to the same enchantment that Riptide had at one point), grab my Magnum and unload a single round into the Elite's chest. The Elite staggered back, clutching its chest as it warbled one last time before passing on.

A battle rage flowed over me for the rest of the battle, making the events hazy and hard to recall. I remember wading in the massive army of Order, slaying Grunts, Jackals, and Elites alike. At one point I had ended up next to Ethan, then I was alone again. I spun through the crowd, shooting bullets, slashing with my knife, and generally causing a mass hysteria. All too soon my knife slashed through the last enemy, and the battlefield was silent for the first time. I glanced up, and noticed that the super carrier was nowhere to be seen, and Lady Chaos' voice told me that it had fled during the battle.

I sighed and walked stiffly toward the rest of the group, taking in their injuries. Zöe's forearm had a small cut on it, and she had a broken finger. Silena and Charles seemed to be fine, probably since they always fought side by side. Luke's visor was cracked, he'd probably head-butted some Elite for fun after his shield had died. Ethan was using some biofoam on a large cut he'd received on his leg, and Veronica was working on popping her shoulder back into place. All in all, we were looking pretty good for what we had just faced, but that may have been due to our SPARTAN advancements.

You see, when we had started the war with Order, the Void troopers were in desperate need of an elite group, and eventually the BHDST's were founded with me as its head. As time went on, it was revealed that we would need a group of even more highly skilled fighters that could handle the toughest missions, and Chaos had gone once more into the underworld to find a human who would help. When she came back, she arrived with a woman we all called Dr. Halsey. She had taught us with the help of Lady Chaos and the most vicious yet caring drill instructors of all time, while also using a machine that could read your DNA's "memories", called the Animus. Eventually, when we were able to do anything without advancements, Dr. Halsey and Chaos together engineered a way to make us better, and we were put into surgery. The result were the group of us, the best that had ever existed. This had only finished about a year ago though, and the fighting had only gotten harder, like what I had shown to the Olympian council.

I was ripped back to the present by a blonde girl standing in front of me with her arms crossed, her grey eyes stormy. "So you're the help? If I hadn't seen what I just did, I wouldn't have believed that you all could pull that off."

"Thank you ma'am. We try our best." I replied stiffly, imagining the smirks the others had to be wearing. We ate forces like those for breakfast.

"Annabeth!" someone called, running towards her.

_Annabeth!?_ I though. _She should be dead!_

"I was so worried about you during the battle! I didn't see you on the line leading with me, and I started to worry that you had fallen without my awesomeness to help you!" the boy said as he reached her, panting. I was worried that it would be who I thought it was.

"I'm sorry Blake! Chiron had demanded that I would send a battle update to our new allies, and I couldn't argue. Well, here they are!" Annabeth replied, confirming my worst fears.

Blake and Annabeth were still alive. _Blake and Annabeth were still alive._ _**BLAKE AND ANNABETH WERE STILL ALIVE. **_That was a lot to take in. I mean, I had an enchantment similar to the hunters until I took over for Lady Chaos, but they were mortal. As in they still died. But here they were, alive and well. I then notice a smidge of gold leaking down Blake's thigh. They were freaking _**gods**_. I nearly lost it at that point, but luckily my General side has a much better control of my temper.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Blake," I forced out, barely resisting the urge to choke him.

"I know it is." Blake responded. "Now, why did you weaklings show up? I had it under control!"

"Well…" Annabeth started, but cut herself off when Blake raised his fist and Annabeth flinched. In that instant, all I could see was my mother and Gabe, and the next thing I knew Luke and Zoe were on top of me, holding me to the ground while Charlie and Silena stood between Blake and me. I was straining hard against Luke and Zoe, but there was no way I could beat the two of them plus Silena and Charlie. If it were one of them, then most likely, but definitely not the four of them. Ethan and Veronica were continuing the conversation with Blake and Annabeth as if nothing was wrong.

"Sir and ma'am, we've been requested by the Olympian Council to set up a temporary base in the valley to help you learn to fight the troops of Order, and to work on defeating Order." I heard Ethan say.

"We don't need your help." Was Blake's snide reply. Annabeth was looking at me curiously, and was absently nodding her head in agreement.

"I'm sorry sir, but this isn't your choice. Zeus himself ordered us to do this, and if the last battle was anything to judge by, then your statement is wrong." Was Veronica's smooth retort. "Besides, we can help add more people to the bulk of your army, making your job easier." Veronica was definitely the most skilled when it came to diplomatic relations.

"Fine. Just stay out of my way." Blake snarled, then stalked away, trying to keep up his uncaring demeanor. Annabeth glanced once more at me and jogged off after Blake, eventually slipping her hand into his. I struggled even harder at that, and Charlie leaned over to help keep me down.  
"We need to get his helmet off." Zoe said worriedly.

"I got it," Silena replied, bending over and grabbing the release seals on my helmet. I struggled even harder, as I had been reverted to my Percy form by the surge of anger, and couldn't switch back yet. No one save Lady Chaos knew of my identity, and I wanted to keep it that way. I heard the hiss of the seals as Silena slipped my helmet off my head, and I closed my eyes tight, but it was of no use. I heard the collective gasp of all the Spartans, and new the game was up. They had found me out.

_**Hello all. Sorry for the cliff hanger, I hate them just like everyone else, but I just couldn't resist it. I also really needed to get this chapter out. I'm nowhere near as good of a writer as ArchAngel, so I will be keeping my chapters as long as I can without spending too long. I plan to update at least once a month, so that way I can make sure I keep my grades up. #IB, if you know what I mean. See you all next time.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello again all. I have really enjoyed seeing how much support you all have given me. Sorry for the long wait, I have been busy with finals and was trying to figure out how to finish this chapter over my winter Break. Happy New Year's to all of you! This story has had visitors from all over, and I've had 393 readers. It's not a lot, but I never expected that all these people would read my story. I hate long author's notes, so thanks to all of you who have followed, favorited, and/or reviewed. If you haven't, please do. **_

_**Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this? I know your all smart enough to know that I'm not nearly as talented or as awesome as Rick Riordan or the folks at Bungie, or ArchAngel for the conception of this story,**_

**Last Time:**

"I got it," Silena replied, bending over and grabbing the release seals on my helmet. I struggled even harder, as I had been reverted to my Percy form by the surge of anger, and couldn't switch back yet. Anger seemed to be my Percy forms specialty, while being cool, calm, and collected was Nexus. No one save Lady Chaos knew of my identity, and I wanted to keep it that way. I heard the hiss of the seals as Silena slipped my helmet off my head, and I closed my eyes tight, but it was of no use. I heard the collective gasp of all the Spartans, and knew the game was up. They had found me out.

**Nexus POV** (_**A/N: I have to figure out how to write for the other POV's, so those may be a while**_)

I snatched my helmet out of Silena's unresisting hands, and quickly placed it over my head as my eyes reverted to Nexus' cool shade of black with its flecks of green and silver, and my hair receded into its cropped blonde look. I could feel the bone shape in my nose and face changing as they too changed to look like the General Nexus that everyone knew, and could hear the hiss of the seals as my suit pressurized. I could hear Silena whisper my name, and I saw Luke turn a deathly pale when the full realization of who I was hit him. They were all standing around and staring at me, and as my General side took over, I snapped "What are you staring at, soldiers?"

They all leaped at the sudden burst from me, and reflexively they all responded together, "Nothing Sir!"

"Good," I replied, still a little shaken up by the fact that they had found out who I was. "We need to set up a temporary base, then once we get everyone in we can set up a more permanent one. You know what that means Spartans."

"Sir, yes sir!" They all chorused once again. As Nexus I had drilled them heavily, and to see this much obedience from them after a realization of who I was made me very proud of them. Of course, I couldn't show it, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel it. I trotted over to my pod, and grabbed the rest of the supplies from inside before hitting the return button. In a flash of darkness and the absence of being able to see anything where the pod was for a second, I knew that it had opened a portal and had been sent back to the drop room, ready to be refitted and redropped when I needed it.

I was glad for the extra ammunition and weapons that I had packed, because if Order had a force like that attack again, it would have been bad if I didn't have the resupply. I could always scrounge for weapons in the field, but they weren't the ones that I had trained for years to be able to master. The other thing that I had packed was a small chip that when thrown on the ground could expand into a sizeable command tent. It had served very well as a frontline base in the past, and I was glad I had it with me now to prevent the use of the Big House as a base of operations.

After we had set up our temporary base, I signaled it was time to meet our new neighbors. As one, we marched toward the barrier, and I could see the Golden Fleece still on the branch of Thalia's pine, and Peleus the dragon still curled up underneath, but much bigger than before. He could have easily swallowed one of us with ease if he wanted to, armor and all, and still have room for 2 more. I could hear the excited whispers of the other Spartans, because despite the fact that we're seen as emotionless killing machines, we actually have our likes and dislikes, etc. We are our own people, contrary to popular belief. Sorry, got distracted. Stupid ADHD. Chaos cured my dyslexia and gave me the ability to read and write every language as well as speak it (A/N: I know it's a bit of a stretch, but she probably could, seeing as the fact she essentially created the Universe), but left my ADD so that I would I would retain my fighting skill.

We passed through the barrier with ease, and Peleus just glanced over us with one large eye, deciding that we weren't threatening the tree or the fleece. Apollo's chariot was setting behind us as we jogged towards the dining pavilion, casting giant shadows of our armor in front of us. I silently cursed at that, as I had been hoping that we would show up without anyone noticing. As we got closer, I could hear dinner was underway, and there seemed to be quite a stir about some "giant armored people fighting for us". I smirked, knowing that they were in for a surprise. I signaled everyone forward, and we all walked in quietly, taking in our surroundings, spotting possible threats or escape routes. Our training had served us well, and it was a habit that we were happy to keep for it had kept us alive in the past.

As I observed the room, I noticed that Dionysus was absent, and in his place were the rest of the 7 plus Blake. I was surprised about the choices of godhood for them all, but my view of them had changed greatly over the years. As we stalked in, the talking quieted. I could feel everyone's eyes on us, and Chiron welcomed us in.

"Hello Spartans," he greeted. "Would you please introduce yourselves to the campers?"

I nodded at Chiron and signaled the others. As one, we removed our helmets and stood before the gathering. I could see the others glancing at me, but I had made sure to keep my General Nexus appearance this time. I nodded once more at the other Spartans, and they introduced themselves one at a time. Silena decided to take the first introduction, as she thought it best to start in order.

"Sierra-118 of the Chaos Army, at your service."

Charlie, never one to stay behind when Silena did something, and also because he was next in order, went next. "Sierra-119 of the Chaos Army, at your service."

"Sierra-120, at your service," Luke continued curtly.

"Sierra-121, at your service," Zoe spoke.

"Sierra-122, at your service," Ethan said, glaring at them with his bionic eye.

"Sierra-123, at your service," Veronica stated. By this point, the campers were really confused. They had seen our arrival, as it was kind of hard not to notice a bunch of pods streaking down through the atmosphere, or the fact that we had decimated Order's army. Finally, it was my turn. As the CO, I had elected to go last, as most Spartans carried no rank. It was an unspoken rule that if a Spartan gave an order, everyone followed it, as it had kept many people alive in the past. Since our Spartan group was a tightknit group despite being spread across the entirety of the Universe, we hardly ever disagreed on orders, so there was not much need for ranking.

As I stepped forward, the room quieted. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as I prepared to speak. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on me, including my Spartans. They were curious about whether or not I would reveal my other identity. Finally, I spoke, "Sierra-117, _**(A/N: don't kill me. I couldn't resist.)**_ 2nd in command of the Void Troopers, a united force against the tyranny of Order. I serve Lady Chaos directly, and am the successor to her throne. Mess with my army, and you mess with me. Everybody got that?" I glared at Blake in particular. I didn't have feelings for Annabeth anymore, but the way he had acted while she still seemed to like him bugged me. There was a saying my mom used to say about it, "Nice guys finish last." That had been true a long time ago, and was certainly still true now. I had no intention to love ever again, and losing my cool like that earlier irked me. I continued my speech.

"The main reason why we are here is to stop Order, and to protect the legacy of Olympus. The Olympian Council themselves have given us permission to help prep you all for the war against the evils of Order and his army. Be prepared for the toughest fight of your lives." I could hear the rest of the Spartans laughing lightly to themselves at the permission statement as I turned to the 7 and Blake. "That includes you, 6 of the prophecy and Blake. I don't care that you're gods, you will help in this fight too. Order has ways of making gods fade, and I have seen it happen. Trust me, you don't want it happening to you." I said, waiting for the outburst.

"Who do you think you are to order us around?" came Blake's voice. I was hoping he'd say that.

"I wasn't ordering you around, just merely suggesting you avoid the death of as many as possible through our help. It was the Olympian Council who was ordering you around. You're welcome to take up the problem with them. But, since you brought it up, step down here and I'll show you." I replied confidently.

Blake, not used to receiving a challenge, paled considerably. "I didn't mean anything, sir, I just… I just…"

"Now I feel insulted. You had me looking forward to a fight. You stand up there, ordering people around, and when one of them challenge you, you stammer and whimper and say you didn't mean anything by it." I sighed. So much for beating the stuffing out of him. "Alright. The second reason we're here is to recruit one of you to join the Void troopers. I take it that the sword is still there?" I queried, pointing at Riptide. Annabeth nodded, and I asked y second question. "And no one has been able to pull it out?" Annabeth shook her head this time. Blake snorted. I turned to him.

"Something funny?" I asked.

"We used to test every camper. I even tried several times myself, even after becoming a god. It's no use, the things stuck there. Magic won't disrupt it, even Hades can't move it. Percy was selfish, as soon as he was no longer the best he took his sword and sunk it into the stone so that no one else could use it." Blake stated. My eye twitched at the Percy comment, but I remained as Nexus this time.

"Well, as a matter-of-fact, all the Spartans can remove it. We've done deeds you can only dream of. Allow me." I said, quickly walking over to the blade and pulling it out lightly from the ground. As I pulled it out, everyone gasped before I had pulled it completely out of the ground. I held it before me. "Anaklusmos, a mighty weapon." I spoke. I gave it a twirl, surprised at how good it still felt, despite everything I had gone through. "And still sharp, I see." I continued, before pulling out a hair and letting it drop onto the blade, where it split as soon as it touched. I grinned. "Alright, whose next?"

"Me, obviously." Blake said as he walked towards the sword. "Since you did it, I should be able to finally claim my rightful inheritance."

I grinned, remembering a scene from The Sword in the Stone. "It won't be that easy." I reassured him. He glanced at me, then turned towards the sword. HE gripped the handle and pulled with all his might, yet the sword only sank deeper. He gasped for breath as my Spartans all slipped over to the sword and removed it one-by-one after the previous person put it back. I grinned at them, and the smiled back. We knew who we were going to pick, we just wanted to be sure it was him. I turned back to the crowd.  
"Who's next?" I asked the shocked faces, and everyone quickly formed a line, except for one boy who sat alone at the Athena table. He looked familiar, and I walked over to ask why he wasn't participating. I could hear the struggle to get the blade out behind me, but I focused on the boy. He was about 11 years old, and looked a lot like his mother. When he glanced at me, I blinked. It was the person we were looking for. "Why aren't you up there?" I asked.

"I haven't done anything. I was brought to camp a couple weeks ago, after having been attacked by the Minotaur. I couldn't save my father, and my protector was knocked out cold. I killed the Minotaur, but failed in protecting the one person I had left. Since then I haven't done anything. No one notices me, except when I was claimed or if I'm in the way. I'm just a nobody." He responded, looking down. I glanced at him.

"You know, Percy was barely able to defeat the Minotaur himself, and he was in the exact same position you were." I told him.

He looked at me with a spark in his eyes. "Really?" he asked, excited. Then he narrowed his eyes. "We aren't supposed to talk about Percy, so how come you know so much about him?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I met him once, and we became very good friends. I have always looked up to him, and don't blame him for what happened." I responded, and Sean nodded.

"I feel much the same way, although I haven't been able to meet him yet. I so dearly want to! He's my favorite hero. Although we're always told about the bad things he did and why we should hate him. It's a very popular view." Sean sighed.

I glanced at this young man beside me, and decided to play my trump card. "Percy works in the Void Troopers," I began, "and the only way to get in is through pulling that sword out. Why don't you wait until last, then try. The sword doesn't just see what you have done, it knows what you will do. It takes everything about you into account, and then it decides what to do from there. From what you've told me, you'll succeed." I grinned at him. "Let's go" I said as I stood up and stretched. Then I reached a hand down to him. "Up you go." I grinned at him again, and this time he grinned back. He stood up and walked to the back of the now very short line. I signaled to the others as he went up, and he placed his young hands around the sword. He seemed to take a deep breath, preparing to pull the sword out. He pulled lightly at first, then stronger until the sword came free in his hands and he toppled over, unable to retain his balance.

I leapt forward and steadied him, before asking "What's your name, son?"

He looked at me dazedly, then replied, "Sean, sir. You knew this would happen, didn't you?" I grinned at him slightly, then turned around. I felt a condenscing at a poin to the side ofe me, as if the entirety of the Universe was shrinking, before Lady Chaos stepped through the portal in her battle gear.

"All hail Lady Chaos!" I shouted before keeling. All around me, people were doing the same thing, and I grinned as she began to speak.

"What have I said about that, _General_?" she looked at me sternly, and I could hear the stress she put on my title, knowing how much I hated it.

"Sorry, _mother_." I shot back. She grinned at me, then turned to Sean.

"All hail Sean, son of Athena, slayer of the Minotaur, and newest recruit to the Spartan program." Lady Chaos spoke to everyone around. I could hear the collective gasp spread through the room, and the hurt in Blake's eyes at not being chosen. I grinned to myself.

_Serves him right for being a total git._ I thought to myself. Just then, I saw Lady Chaos begin to move out.

"Spartans, it's time to go. Sean, if there is anything you want, you can fetch it, but please do it quickly." Lady Chaos ordered. All the other Spartans put on their helmets and readied their weaponry before movin out. I glanced aorun the mess hall once more, before looking ack to Blake. I grinned at him and winked, before putting on my own helmet and movind to stand with Lady Chaos. Sean quickly fetched his things, and we sooon arrived at oru encampment. Lady Chaos nodded in approval before turning to Sean.

"I'll take you back to my real so that you can train before coming back here. Don't worry, you'll be back before the fight, I just want you to be prepared. Ready?" She asked. Sean nodded, and she took his hand in hers. The disappeared in a flash of light, a type of travel that was easier on mortals then what she had done earlier, albeit slower. After they disappeared, I looked up, remembering the last time I had seen Sean, about to head out on a mission. I saw the telltale signs of stars being blotted out to letting me know that there were several drop pods on their way, and I signaled the others. The pods hit the ground near camp, and the first person to step out was a Spartan. He pulled off his helmet, and he grinned when he saw me.

"You seem to have left out the fact that _you_ were Percy." Sean said, grinning at me.

_**2859 words this chapter. Sorry for the lack of action, and really sorry for the late update! Also, please review if you have constructive criticism or a suggestion. I will take all suggestions into consideration if they make sense, and if I use your suggestion I will add your name to a thank you list at the bottom of the chapter. Please don't send me anything that complains about ArchAngels or my writing styles, unless it's a suggestion to help me improve. Thank you all for your support by reading this story. I hope to get the next chapter out in a month, but we saw how well that worked last time. If I'm late, just pm me to help me remember that I have more of a life than school. Thanks! See you all next time.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Yo. Sorry for the incredibly late update. I've been tossing around this story in my head for a long time, but could never quite get it to work right until recently. This chapter is going to rely heavily on the book "The Fall of Reach" by Eric Nylund during the SPARTAN's training section. If you love Halo, it's an incredible read, and very informative about SPARTANs and MJOLNIR. I'm also planning on reposting my original chapters with updates to the grammar and spelling, along with putting ArchAngel's original chapter at the beginning to make it a little easier to read. Please let me know if you think this is a good idea, and I hope you enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm a student, not the genius that is Rick Riordan or Bungie/Microsoft/all the writers for Halo like Eric Nylund, nor am I ArchAngel's Wrath, the person who first came up with the idea for this amazing story.**_

**Last Time: **"You seem to have left out the fact that _you_ were Percy." Sam said, grinning at me.

**Sam P.O.V. (A/N I know, I know, **_**finally. **_**A P.O.V. that's not Percy's!)**

_Time Skip: Earlier that Night_

Sam lifted his head from where he was sitting slumped on a bench. There was the lead figure of the strange group, walking over to him. As the man sat down, Sean studied him closely. Being a child of Athena, he noticed several interesting things faster than most others might. First, the man was a lot bigger than any grown mortal Sean had ever seen. Second, the man appeared to be sad, yet also excited at the same time. Third, the man seemed to be in charge of his every movement, as if he had thousands of years of training. He looked as if he had more control and power than the Gods themselves, and they'd been around for a very, very long time.

As the man spoke, Sean was reminded of his father. A very caring and brilliant man, but unrelenting if he needed to be. The man eventually convinced him to try to take the sword out of the stone, and much to Sean's surprise, the sword came out of the stone as easily for him as it had for the SPARTANs. He glanced at the man, and asked if the man had known that would happen. In the next moment, the world seemed to be sucked towards a point next to the man, and a beautiful woman dressed in the armor of the SPARTANs appeared. The man referred to her as Lady Chaos. Sean was eventually taken along with her back to her palace. Once he arrived, she spoke to him directly.

"Hello Sean. It's been a long time since I saw you last. You were just heading out on a mission, and we lost contact with you within the first hour. You had survived, but you were deep in enemy territory. Percy didn't want to leave you stranded there, but I demanded that he go out on his mission and stated that you would be fine. As it turns out, you were, and that you will be joining him in a minute. But first, we need to send you back in time, 2283 years to be exact, to be trained so that you'll be ready to join Percy on the battlefield."

Sean stared at her, slightly confused by her statement, but excited at the prospect of joining his hero Percy in battle. "Whatever you need, ma'am. I'm ready to train."

"This will be harder than you can imagine, and at times you may want to quit. From here on out, your life will never be easy again. You will be in constant peril, and there is no certainty that you will survive. Are you sure you want to continue?" She queried.

"With all due respect Lady Chaos, that is the most clichéd thing I have ever heard. You already stated that I was a SPARTAN, and that I'd be needed, so how can I back down. I'd destroy the timeline. No, I need to do this. And someday, I'll save my dad." Sean replied cautiously.

Lady Chaos grinned. "He said you'd say that. Now, if you'd like to join the other trainees, I'll send you there."

A brilliant flash of light appeared in front of Sean, and a tingling feeling spread across his body. Once the light dissipated, and he was able to open his eyes again, he saw a group of kids around his age staring at him.

"Who do you think he is?" one of the girls asked.

"How should I know Zoe? He's definitely a demigod, and definitely sent by Lady Chaos, but aside from that, there's no knowing who he is." Replied a boy who looked very much like the man who'd talked to him back at camp. The boy turned and held his hand out to Sean. "Sorry for the staring. We're all quite bored, since we've been stuck in here for the past hour. The name's Nexus. If you don't mind my asking, who are you?"

Sean grasped Nexus's hand. "My name's Sean, and I'm originally from Camp Half-Blood, but a group of soldiers came and recruited me for Lady Chaos." Sean could see the others stiffen visibly at the name "Camp Half-Blood", but couldn't tell why. As he was about to ask them, a woman wearing a white lab coat walked in.

"Good evening, SPARTANs. You have volunteered yourselves for this experimental project. You will be trained … and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Chaos and the Universe. This place will become your home. Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it. Rest now. We will begin tomorrow." She turned to a buff man in fatigues who had entered behind her and spoke softly to him.

The man said something back to her, then turned and shouted to the children, "Fall out!"

Sean followed the other children's example of saluting then marched out behind them. As he passed through the door, he gasped. They were in a military compound of some kind, but it appeared to be empty. The others seemed to know where to go, so he stuck with them as they walked to a long building. Once inside, he could smell lots of different aromas rising from a long table. As they got closer, he saw that it was a buffet of some sort. Each child grabbed a tray then scanned their palm on the table. They then proceeded to pile food onto their plate before scanning the plate and their palm on the other side. The computer beeped at each of them before they turned to sit down at one of the tables. Nexus glanced over at Sean before setting his tray down and jogging back to help Sean.

"We're only allowed a certain amount of food so that we can get all the nutrients and energy we need without over eating. Start with scanning your palm on the screen there and it will show you what you're allowed to get." Nexus explained.

Sean stepped over to the scanner and placed his palm against it. A green band of light flicked across his palm before the screen beeped and showed him what he could get. Sean proceeded along and took what the screen had specified, before copying what the others had done on the far side. He walked over to the table and sat down. It wasn't long before all the others started bombarding him with questions.

"How's Camp Half-Blood?"

"What's Earth like?"

"How did you get here?"

"Who's your godly parent?"  
Nexus quickly stepped in. "Guys, he just got here. We should probably introduce ourselves first." He winked at Sean, as if the two shared a joke.

Sean grinned, knowing he'd found a great group.

"Wake up, trainee!" Sean heard a man shout. It sounded a lot like the man from last night. Sean quickly jumped out of bed, and saw the uniformed man from last night staring at him with a sparking silver baton. The man nodded. "Good. You know which way up is." He stated. He turned to the others, who were standing beside their bunks, each one accompanied by another man with a silver baton. "I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez," the man shouted. "The rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times.

Mendez pointed to the far end of the cinderblock barracks. 'Showers are aft. You will all wash and then return here to dress." He opened a trunk at the end of Sean's cot and pulled out a pair of matching gray sweats.

Sean glanced at them quickly before he headed to the showers. He noticed that they had some writing on them, but he wasn't able to get a proper look. Once he reached the showers, he stripped off the nightshirt he had been wearing, surrounded by the rest of the kids. The others stepped onto a conveyor belt on the floor, and Sean followed suit. He washed himself with a lukewarm soapy water before he rinsed off with an icy cold spray.

Sean sprinted back to his bunk, and quickly pulled on the clothes that had been left out for him. As he pulled on the clothes, he noticed that they had his name and a three digit number next to it stenciled onto the chest of his shirt. It read "SEAN-115". His mind flashed back to camp for a moment and the SPARTANS that had introduced themselves by calling themselves "sierra" followed by a number. All of a sudden, Sean felt as if he'd been struck with lightning, a feeling he was altogether too familiar with after upsetting too many children of Zeus.  
"No slacking! On the double!" Mendez shouted from right behind Sean, holding his baton. Sean quickly pulled on the rest of the supplied clothes before he followed the example that the other children were showing, standing at attention at the end of the bunk. As soon as the last of the children had gotten dressed, Mendez grinned and announced, "There'll be no waiting for late trainees tomorrow. Now, outside! Triple time … _march_!"

Sean tried to fall in line with the others, but he just couldn't get the rhythm down. The others didn't seem to be struggling nearly as much as he was, and before Sean could nail down the right rhythm the group stopped in the middle of a strip of grass. And thus began the most grueling workout session that Sean had ever gone through. Hundreds of pushups, sit-ups, sprints, jumping jacks, all sorts of exercises to push his body to the limit. As he glanced around, he could see the determination on the faces of the other children, and he swore to himself to never give up, to not be the weak link, to never back down as long as he could do something to help.

After they had finished the workout, Chief Mendez sent the children to a classroom to be taught strategy. Here, Sean was at home. After all, his mother was Athena, goddess of wisdom, war, and strategy among other things. The A.I., Déjà, began to instruct them as they ate a small snack of a couple of dry crackers, talking about the bravery of the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae. Sean watched in fascination at the hologram projection of the battle. He had heard of the battle before, but never had he been able to get so close to it as if it were real and he had the vantage point of a god. All too soon the lesson was over, with Déjà promising to teach them about wolves the next day.

"But first," Déjà spoke over the grumbling of the children, "It's time for you to go to the playground."

"Playground?" Sean asked quizzically, noting the cringing of his friends.

Déjà merely smiled. "Best not be late!" She claimed cheerily.

Sean frowned as he ran out of the room with the other trainees. Something was up with this so-called "playground". He liked the sound of it even less when Chief Mendez claimed it was only a "short-run" away.

After a grueling two-mile jog through a forest, Sean and the other children finally arrived at the playground, which to Sean looked more like a rope's course he'd seen once than a "playground". Instead of trees, the natural forest had been cleared to allow a forest of twenty-meter tall wooden poles to be erected all over the place. Rope cargo nets and bridges stretched between the poles, covering most of the visible sky. Scattered among the bridges were ropes leading up to the platforms, some with knots a couple of meters apart and others with none.

"Trainees, form two lines!" Chief Mendez barked at us. The children quickly stepped into line, and Sean somehow ended up next to Nexus. Sean hadn't really spoken to the others all day, being either too out of breath or engrossed in the class to say much of anything, but when opened he mouth to give greet Nexus, Mendez began speaking again. "As there are eight of you, you will all be split into teams of two. 118 will be with 119, 120 and 121, 122 and 123, and 115 and 117 will be the teams. SPARTANs 116 and 124 will, regrettably, be unable to join us for now, so until further notice those will be your teams." Sean grinned to himself as he recognized the numbers from two nights earlier, when he had met the SPARTANs in the future. Sean then turned to Nexus and grinned, just as Nexus turned to Sean and smirked before offering a fist. Sean glanced at it then back at Nexus before Nexus rolled his eyes and bumped Sean's fist with his. Sean's grin widened as he felt welcomed into the group even more than he had the night before, but was abruptly interrupted by Chief Mendez's voice once again.

"Alright trainees. Today's game is called 'Ring the Bell.'" Mendez pointed to a cowbell hanging ten meters above all the other poles. "I leave it up to each team to find their own wat. When both members of your team have rung the bell, you are to get groundside double time and run back here across this finish line. Last team across the line goes without dinner. Any questions?"

Sean raised his hand as Mendez stared at the children. "Yes trainee?" Mendez asked Sean.

"Is there a record for the fastest completion time on this obstacle course?" Sean asked, stalling for time to try to come up with a strategy on how to tackle the course in front of him.

"No, but there will be after today. Anyone else? No? Good. On my mark …"

Sean glanced at Nexus, who was beaming at Sean.

"Mark!" Mendez shouted, and the children sprang forward. Nexus grabbed Sean's arm and dragged him to one of the ropes, all the other children rushing to the other unclaimed ones.

"Hurry up the rope. I'll make sure no one tries to mess with it while you're climbing," Nexus quickly spoke to Sean before gesturing up to the platform. "Get climbing!"

Sean grabbed the rope with two hands before pulling himself up, muscles screaming in protest to the activity. He was still sore from the earlier workout, but he pushed through the pain as much as he could. _"Do it for Nexus_" Sean yelled in his head. After what seemed like forever, Sean reached the top of the platform and glanced around. A few of the others had made it up, their partners rushing after them. All of a sudden, Nexus's head popped into view next to Sean.

"Time to go for the bell," Nexus said slyly, before handing Sean a rock from the platform. Sean glanced to Nexus as Nexus pulled back his arm and threw the rock as hard as he could at the bell, arching the rock and making it slam into the bell despite a distance still of about 20 meters. Nexus then turned to Sean and explained, "It's all in the release. I used to suck something fierce at archery, but I've gotten much better with my shot with Lady Chaos's blessing. Quickly now! Try it out."

Sean glanced at Nexus, unsure of his aim. He'd always sucked at archery, thinking back to the days of Camp Halfblood, and how everyone had said he'd been almost as bad as Per-

"Stop daydreaming and throw the dam rock!" Nexus shouted, startling Sean. Sean quickly launched the rock at the bell, and somehow managed to smack the bell dead-on.

"That's not possible," Sean muttered as Nexus grinned at him cheekily.

"It is now," Nexus proclaimed before nudging Sean. "No time to waist, let's go."

Sean glanced down to the ground and his head swam. 20 meters seemed a lot higher now than it had earlier, but Nexus once more grabbed Sean's arm and shoved him back to the rope. "Grab the rope with your legs and lightly with your hands, then pray to the gods to not get rope-burn. I'll heal anything that you get. Now, off you go!" Nexus said, too cheerily in Sean's opinion. Sean grabbed the rope and slid down, burning his hands slightly in the process before dropping the last two meters. Nexus landed right next to him, and the two boys bolted to the finish line, crossing over it just as the first group of other kids reached the bell.

"Good job," Mendez said to the two boys. "Rocks are no longer allowed Nexus. See to it to win without them next time."

Nexus saluted Mendez before sitting down roughly next to where Sean had collapsed, both boys breathing heavily. The two exchanged grins again, and Sean knew he had finally found a best friend.

_Time Skip: Present_

**Nexus POV:**

"Just as you seem to have failed to inform us of the new gods." I claimed, glaring at Sean for a couple of seconds before my face split into a grin. We reached forward and grabbed each other's forearms before proceeding to slap each other on the shoulder in a brotherly manner. "And here I was thinking I could have some peace and quiet for once," I replied cheekily.

"Ha. The only peace you'll ever get is when you finally admit to being in love with Zöe," Sean countered quietly. I glared at him before snorting and letting go of his arm.

"Some people never change," I growled to myself before turning back to everyone. I could see that everyone had taken off their helmets and were all grinning as much as I had been moments before. "Spartans!" My voice rose in volume to cover the distance. "Our brother has returned from his absence and has decided to give an unreasonable excuse. How do we judge him?"

Sean's eyes widened in fear as everyone else's grins grew three sizes, and together everyone shouted, "Guilty!"

I turned back to Sean. "Sean, I hereby condemn you to two days of dealing with the members of Camp Half-Blood, as well as a training battle against the entirety of the rest of the Spartans," I said, grinning again before mouthing the words, "Serves you right."

Sean smirked before replying, "Burn in Hades. I'd take you on right now, but it appears as if we have visitors."

I glanced past him to see Annabeth slowly approaching the camp with the rest of the 6 and Blake in tow. I growled to myself again before clearing my face and approaching the gods. "Welcome to our encampment, 6 of the prophecy and Blake. How may we be of assistance?"

"You could start by giving us your actual names, and introducing the new Spartan." Of course Annabeth would be the one to pick up on the similarities of the people and the fact that there was a new one of us.

"Just as soon as you introduce yourselves and your own powers," Sean replied, not really wanting to give up the information of who he was.  
Annabeth sighed before opening her mouth to speak, but Blake beat her to it. "Who do you think you are demanding that we give you this information before you give us any yourself?" His voice was high-pitched, showing his fear of who we were.

Sean grinned predatorily. "I'm the guy who'll kick your ass if you don't shut up right now. BUT, if you really want to know who I am, as in really, truly wish to know, then I'll tell you."

The 6 waited for a couple of seconds before realizing that Sean wasn't going to say anything without their asking. "Who are you really?" Blake asked, his voice hushed in fear.

I face palmed as Sean's grin widened even further. "I'm the guy who'll kick your ass someday." Our visitors glared at Sean before his smile turned into more of a relaxed smile instead of a predatory one and he continued. "I'm also Sierra-115, 3rd in command of the Void Troopers and Lady Chaos' assassination and espionage expert. Don't let that fool you, I can take on anybody here and win hands down, with the exception of Nexus. I have to actually try to beat him. If you mess with my army, you mess with me as well, and that includes messing with my superiors." I followed the 6 and Blake's example of glaring at Sean before turning back to them.

"Please ignore the idiot, we've let him be hit by too many artillery rounds for his intelligence to be worth anything anymore." I told the 6, desperately trying to ignore Sean's childish actions. Before I could continue, Sean decided to open his mouth again.

"Hey!" He pouted. "Is that any way to treat a child of Athena?"

I grimaced internally as our guest's eyes widened. "And you, sir, have just volunteered for KP duty as well for the next couple of days." Sean cursed while the other Spartans all saluted him valiantly for his service, trying to keep their smirks off of their faces.

"A child … of Athena?" Annabeth asked, still trying to process what had been said.

"Yes. This is Sean, the child of Athena that joined us earlier. He has risen through the ranks of the Void Troopers rather quickly despite his less than Athenian intelligence, and he has already informed you of his current position. If I am not with around to help, go to him. He will be your best chance surviving if you can get past the loss of brain cells." I replied, sighing internally at Sean's slip-up. It could cause problems in the future if not handled carefully, so I took the moment of shock to give them a heart-attack. "In fact, you know all of the Spartans. Each of us was involved with Camp Half-Blood in a past life, and all of us have decided to become Spartans. Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd please?"

"Silena, at your service." Silena began again, restarting the order from earlier.

"Charlie, at your service."

"Luke, at your service."

"Zöe, at your service."

"Ethan, at your service."

"Veronica, at your service."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me before I opened my mouth to introduce myself once more. "Nexus, at your service. Now, if you'd please introduce what you're the gods of, we can start upon a plan and hopefully get some sleep before tomorrow's training." I could feel the looks of disappointment from my soldiers and the confused looks of the 6 and Blake, with the exception of Annabeth. Each name had been like a bullet to her, especially Luke's.

Jason glanced at Annabeth before realizing she was out of commission for the moment, so he stepped forward. "I'm Jason, son of Zeus, god of rituals and holy places."  
Piper stepped forward next. "I'm Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of true love and friendship."

Leo grinned, but it was missing much of the old cheer he'd had. "I'm Leo, son of Hephaestus, god of repair shops and mechanics, as well as all machines to a lesser extent."

Frank smile kindly before his he answered. "I'm Frank, son of Ares, legacy of Poseidon, god of shapeshifting and of the calm during a battle."

Hazel glanced at Frank before realizing it was her turn. "I'm Hazel, daughter of Hades, goddess of jewelry and rare metals."

Annabeth, recovering from her shock, decided to go next. "I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena, goddess of the perfect strategy and perfect building."

Blake smirked as he finally stepped forward. "I'm Blake, son of Poseidon, god of salt water, and heir to the throne of the ocean. Now, _Spartans_, do you see why we don't need your help?"

I glanced them over before answering slowly, "Not at all. All I see are a bunch of inexperienced teenagers who aren't used to fighting for their very lives or being stuck without their godly powers. And trust me, our enemy will destroy you without our help. We can give you a fighting chance as we join forces with you and train your soldiers, but we will be the ones in charge in that circumstance. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a plan to make." I turned quickly before speaking sharply, "Sierra-115! Please escort our _beloved_ guests out of the encampment then join me in my command tent. Everyone else, figure out a watch rotation and get to it. We will start work at 0500 hours tomorrow. Get some rest."

_**Sorry for taking so long. I started the chapter, got busy, failed to work on it, decided to reread my other chapters, fell out of working on it, read some other fanfics, generally procrastinated, and finally got back to work on this one. I've tried to make it a little bit longer so that you can enjoy it more! It's 4143 words, actually. I don't plan to take nearly as long again, but you never know. Hope you enjoyed!**_


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